Daniel Dubois will be looking to successfully defend his heavyweight title for a second time against the Kiwi after the Joshua rematch fell through
Daniel Dubois is scheduled to make the second defence of his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker on February 22 in Riyadh.
The showdown between the two stars is set to co-headline a stacked card in Saudi Arabia. Dubois was a huge underdog in his last showdown against Anthony Joshua. However, ‘AJ’ struggled from the opening bell, with ‘Dynamite’ going on to drop his heavyweight rival four times in total before securing a sensational knockout in the fifth round to retain his IBF title.
Following the blockbuster clash at Wembley, Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh had proposed a date on February 22, with His Excellency targeting the rematch between the two British stars.
In an interview with Boxing News, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, revealed his client will likely return to the ring next summer. “We had a very awkward call with ‘AJ’ and his medical team,” he said. “He wanted to fight in February and basically was told ‘there is no way you can start camp and be 100% for February, physically’.
“There’s nothing major. There’s two or three issues that he had a little bit in camp but also after the fight as well. And they said you need to come back in May-June and he didn’t want to do it. He wanted to fight in February, but unfortunately we kind of had to overrule him on this and say no because we can’t afford not to get this right.”
Following his defeat in September, Joshua has dropped to seventh in the heavyweight rankings. Despite calls to retire, ‘AJ’ has insisted he will not be hanging up the gloves anytime soon and believes he can become a three-time world champion. However, the Brit may have to wait a little longer for his shot at another world title.
